Haiti to implement safety measures after Carnival tragedy

February 19, 2015 12:23 AM

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PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - The Haitian government raised the death toll from Tuesday's electrocution of a Carnival float to 18 and said it was exploring measures to prevent future incidents involving overhead high voltage power lines, the Minister of Communications announced on Wednesday.

Most of the dead, 15 men and 3 women, died during a stampede after one of the floats carrying a popular band hit an overhead electric cable causing a sudden large flash that caused a crowd of spectators to panic. The death toll was previously 16, with more than 70 people were injured.